A Multidisciplinary Approach to Optimize the Gust Loading on Groups of Wind Turbine Towers at the Quayside

Steel towers of offshore wind turbines are usually assembled at the quayside before being loaded onto the installation vessel and taken to the offshore wind farm. Towers are usually erected in groups at close distance on gravity-based foundations, which should be verified against the relevant environmental loads, including the wind load. The peculiarities of the system together with the necessity of optimization to limit the costs without compromising the safety inspired the development of an advanced multidisciplinary approach for the assessment of gust buffeting loads. The methodology aims at refining the calculation and introducing tailored input parameters. This is achieved through local wind measurements, wind tunnel tests and full-scale measurements. In this paper the methodology is presented and compared with the typical approach provided by EN 1991–1-4.